10 Wrestlers Who Always Followed The Money

8. Brutus Beefcake

Ultimate Warrior Money
WWE.com

This list takes on altogether more literal bent with the following entry.

Ed 'Brutus Beefcake' Leslie quite literally followed the money by traipsing around Hulk Hogan everywhere his master went. Attached to the Hulkster by a leash, in the WWF and subsequently WCW, the panting Beefcake was paid in bones, chew toys and cans upon cans of Pedigree Chum.

Beefcake was over in the WWF, at least. The fans were into his daft gimmick and made noise for his post-match schtick. In the sort of result that scans as sacrilege out of context, they went insane when 'Bruti' beat Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania VI, but in context, Beefcake was an over babyface.

Those who remained after the Hulkamania boom were mercilessly cruel to him in the early days of Raw, and WCW fans never cared about him once. He headlined Starrcade '94 against Hogan as the turncoat 'Butcher', which drew a pathetic number for a Hogan singles main event (130,000), after which Leslie was thrown some tennis balls in the form of various bad gimmicks to distract him from actually being involved.

The only difference in this tortured metaphor is that people actually like dogs.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!